Kingdom Hearts: Chronicles of Light and Dark
by Zero-One01
Summary: An AU fic picking up right after coded/ Re:coded. With an old foe returning, how will Sora and the others deal with the situation this time? And does Darkness really have to mean evil...?
1. Prologue: A New Story for a New Journey

I decided to try my hand at Kingdom Hearts! Hope ya like it...! (And no, I do not own the characters except for those who are mine.)

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><p><strong>Kingdom Hearts: Chronicles of Light and Dark<strong>

Prologue: A New Story for a New Journey.

[Seven years before the current timeline]

All was dark, save for a few crystals glowing as they grew nearby. The young warrior was lost in a desolate realm of never-ending darkness. "How did I get myself into this?" she demanded of herself as she pushed on through the encroaching shadows. It seemed like so long ago- something about friends having been lost, a promise, and a sacrifice? No, that couldn't have been everything…..Could it? Who _was_ she, anyway? A…..Something starting with the letter "A"? Settling down for a brief respite, she began to talk to herself. Normally this would be perceived as strange, but in light of the maddening silence and solitude, she found solace in hearing _any_ voice- even her own.

"Okay, _think_," she ordered herself. "_Concentrate_."

Nothing happened, except the fuzzy images in her head got a little clearer. She remembered two boys- one slightly older than her with chocolate brown hair, and the other a few years younger with dark blond. What were their names? Feeling the sudden urge to check her pocket, she pricked her right hand's pointer finger on something sharp, the painful result of carelessly jamming her hand into her small pockets. Drawing the offending object out of the space, she examined it. It was a star-shaped pendant, blue in color. Cradling it in her hands, she finally remembered. The charm was called a Wayfinder. Her name was Aqua. Her friends whom she quested for were named Terra and Ventus. All three of them wielded unique weapons called "Keyblades", essentially magical, near-sentient swords in the shape of keys. They studied under one Master Eraqus, but were betrayed and manipulated by Eraqus' colleague and fellow Master, Master Xehanort, around the time Aqua herself had become a Master. Xehanort was responsible for all that had happened thus far- Eraqus was dead, Terra's body overrun by Xehanort himself, and Ventus' heart was nowhere to be found, though he seemed to have survived somehow, if his catatonic body was any implication. Even Aqua's current predicament, in a roundabout way, could be traced back to the greed and hunger for power of Master Xehanort. Aqua shook her head dejectedly. She had always been proud of being a good student. How had she forgotten all that? She could only surmise that it was a side effect of being immersed in such deep, primordial, elemental darkness for so long. If her estimate was correct, she had been stranded in that dark place for over three years. Standing, she slowly approached one of the larger crystals, one easily large enough to see her whole body in. Her physical features didn't look much different than she remembered they usually did- she still had the deep blue eyes and fair complexion, but her neck-length blue hair looked unkempt and her curvy figure was covered in bruises and scrapes. As always, she was wearing her signature outfit: sleeveless top, belts crossing her chest with her Keyblade Wielder's Mark in the center, detached sleeves, skirt with bike shorts, kneesocks and armored boots. Nothing was really out of place, though she couldn't help but notice the small rips and tears forming in the fabric from wear and tear.

Suddenly, she heard the sounds of shuffling feet, immediately snapping her attention away from her appearance. Though a break from the total silence she had been experiencing would ordinarily be welcome, Aqua did not enjoy hearing that sound- for it was the sound of approaching Heartless. Abominations born of darkness, Heartless seek to devour the hearts of living beings, and by extension the light that dwells inside. What was worse, any darkness that was in the person's heart sprang up afterward and became a new Heartless, adding to their abhorrent ranks. Being in the Realm of Darkness, as Aqua remembered the place being called, she was at a major disadvantage- this was the _home_ of the Heartless, their dimension. They could appear from anywhere at any time, so she had to remain vigilant. Thankfully, the specific creature that was tailing her turned out to be a mere Shadow- the weakest form the Heartless could possibly take. However, grateful as she was, Aqua began to ponder as she slashed the monster into oblivion with her Keyblade.

"It's usually the big ones that come after me," she thought, "So where are they? I haven't seen any for what must have been days by now!" She decided to be wary of traps until the next time she allowed herself to rest.

Coming to a wider path, her worst fears were apparently confirmed when she saw a pair of giant glowing crimson eyes glowering down out of the darkness. However, if it was a trap, it already had prey in it. Upon closer inspection, Aqua found that the giant was fixated not on her, but on a younger girl who was steadily being cornered by Heartless. Clumsily swiping at the Heartless with a battered shortsword, she valiantly battled her foes, though it was apparent that she was about to be overwhelmed by their sheer numbers.

**SLASH!**

The girl raised her blade in a defensive stance. However, it was in vain, for Aqua had already taken out most of the advancing creatures. It was almost as if she were dancing, for she moved so gracefully in her strikes. Cutting down the last of the small fries, the warrior-maiden turned to the child she just saved.

With as much ferocity as her tired self could muster, she shouted to her charge, "This is no place for children! Get moving while I keep them distracted!"

However, the girl could not. She was too transfixed by the sight of the mammoth Heartless raising a clawed hand to strike the new combatant. Horrified, she frantically tried to warn her new friend, but all she could manage to do was to scream and point at the sight.

Hearing the scream as she attempted to locate the main body of the gargantuan beast, Aqua whirled around. "You again? I thought I told you to leave this—Guh!" she grunted as she was punched by the creature. Luckily, she had already been standing in a defensive stance just in case, but that didn't stop her from being flung into a wall near the girl and dropping her Keyblade at her side, the fingers grasping it opening slightly.

The girl picked up the fallen warrior's Keyblade from the hand that held it, dropping her own nearly-broken weapon where she originally stood. Holding it in her hand, the girl felt stronger- like the blade was feeding her its power. Her strength and courage renewed, she charged at the massive beast. Jumping and dodging to get around the creature's attacks, the young raven-haired child made her way to the twisted face of the abomination. Embedded in the forehead, she saw her true target- a glimmering crystal, crimson as blood in color. Gaining a foothold on the beast's own shoulder, she hacked away at its face as hard as she could when it turned its gaze upon her. Eventually, though she had to regain her perch several times, the inexperienced youth managed to pry the gem from the grasp of the Heartless's forehead- just in time for her more-experienced companion to awaken.

"Ngh," groaned Aqua. That last blow had hurt terribly. She would need to find a safe place to rest, and soon. Attempting to summon her Keyblade into her hand, Aqua was shocked to see that the summoning failed, for it was in the hands of the very child she was attempting to save. "Why….Isn't it coming?" she asked herself mentally. Fearing for the child's safety, Aqua opted to simply draw the Keyblade back to her instead. It was a rather basic feat for someone as talented in the mystic arts as she was, doubly so since, given her preference for magic over direct combat, Keyblade Manipulation was one of the first things Master Eraqus had taught her.

As the strange girl was dragged swiftly back to her, Aqua said gently, "I'll take it from here. That enemy is much too strong for you." Surprisingly, this time the girl obeyed, opting to retrieve her shortsword instead. What Aqua saw next intrigued her even more- the Heartless was shrinking! What had once been a crimson-eyed, hulking monstrosity had been reduced to a simple Darkside, a Heartless type which, while still quite large, was little more than a glorified Shadow Heartless. Turning to the girl and giving an encouraging grin, Aqua declared, "Now you'll see how a Keyblade Master does things!"

And with that, she proceeded to slice and hack the monster, before finally backing up a few steps and uttering one last word:

"Holy!"

At this, a blast of bright light erupted from the center of the Heartless's chest, obliterating it. By then, the girl was all questions. "Whoa! What was that? Did you shoot it? Was that a grenade? Or….Was it _magic_?"

Dismissing her Keyblade in a flash of light, Aqua chuckled as she replied, "Whoa whoa, slow down! First of all, what's your name? I'm Master Aqua, but you can just call me Aqua if you want."

"Mine's Mei," replied the girl quickly. "So? So? What about _my_ questions?"

"Well," Aqua started, "First of all, yes that was magic. Holy is one of the strongest spells…"Hearing the sound of shuffling footsteps, Aqua trailed off.

"They're coming again, aren't they?" asked Mei, grimly.

"Well….Yes. Yes, they are," replied Aqua.

Mei sighed. "I guess there's no way around it, then. Looks like we have to….Whoops!" she exclaimed as a crimson flash emanated from the blade of her sword. In the next instant, her beat-up, blunted shortsword was replaced with a Keyblade of her own- black in color, with a semi-circular guard and a single red wing as the teeth, with subtle, intricate red lines etched on the shaft and handle of the blade. On the center of the guard was a design set slightly apart from the lines- a winged heart. There was even a little keychain hanging from the handle, as was the case with Aqua's blade, though Mei's was a crimson wing, like the teeth of her Key.

Once Aqua examined the weapon herself, the reason for Mei's apparent lack of swordsmanship became quite obvious- Keyblades are born of the weilder's heart, and this one had a _reversed grip_, meaning that, by holding the blade pointed forward, the girl was fighting her nature. Aqua smiled slightly as Mei stubbornly attempted to hold the blade as she had previously.

"I suppose I'll have to train you," mused the azure-haired warrior," But it would be nice to get away from this horde first. Do you know how to get out of here?"

Mei's face brightened instantly. "Of course! Follow me!"

And with that, the two young women dashed off, until the electric lights and small buildings comprising a lonely city appeared.

"C'mon, I'll show you," said Mei, inviting Aqua to come along with her into the city. It wasn't a bustling metropolis or anything of the sort. It was more of a centralized community which had simply grown too large to be called a town anymore.

"What's this place called?" Aqua asked Mei gently.

"It's called 'Edge'," the child replied. "We're not all that imaginative when it comes to naming places around here. If ya look over that way, you'll see _why_ we call it Edge."

Complying with the child's directions, Aqua looked in the direction she was pointing at, and immediately felt a chill sweep over her. It was as if she was staring into the deepest depths imaginable to mankind- the kind of depth that, as one stares into it, one is fearful of falling into it. Aqua was awakened from her reverie by a gentle hand on her arm. Shockingly, she had been so entranced by the void into which she was staring, that she had been walking toward the edge of the path they were walking on without realizing it, running the risk of falling into the void for real.

"You….Okay?" asked Mei warily.

"Y-Yeah," Aqua replied, slowly shaking her head to clear it. "Let's….Let's just get into the city."

As they got closer, Aqua couldn't help but wonder how this city, or any civilization for that matter, could survive in such a place as the Realm of Darkness. After all, Heartless were everywhere, even large ones. Pretty soon, she was able to see just what protected the city: some sort of force field. Visible only from a few yards away, a translucent dome of red light enveloped the small city.

"Bet you're wondering about that, huh?" asked an amused Mei. "We have a big crystal that keeps those _things_ out. If you stick around, you might see something cool later!" she exclaimed. "Not that I have much of a choice," Aqua thought to herself.

About an hour after they entered the city, Mei directed Aqua to the dimly-lit center of the city. What the child had said was true- there was a mammoth crystal, red like the energy shield it supposedly powered, standing erect in the very center of the plaza, thought its glow was waning. All of a sudden, Mei excused herself from Aqua's company, and joined a ring of people at the base of the crystal.

A dignified-looking man, possibly these people's leader, addressed the throng of people gathering in between Aqua and those at the base of the crystal. "Friends, on this joyous occasion, it pleases me to say that all of our Crystal Hunters have returned this year!"

The fact that there was great cheering over this made Aqua feel slightly uneasy- he had made it sound like it was a rare treat for something like this to happen.

"Now that we are all gathered, let the Empowerment Ceremony….begin!"

With that, Mei and those with her at the crystal's base raised the smaller crystals that they held. From the smaller crystals, bolts of what seemed to be crimson lightning jetted out and entered the large crystal in the center. In the brightened light, Aqua could make out the faces of some of the other Crystal Hunters. Some were older, bearded men with swords, axes and and shields. Others, youths both male and female, had bows and quivers strapped to their backs. However, among those gathered, Mei was among the youngest. Just as suddenly as the ceremony began, the smaller crystals died out, leading their bearers to lower them. Several tense moments passed as all present turned their attention to the giant crystal. Finally, its light brightened, to the degree that everything in the town square became illuminated, as well as turned crimson due to the hue of the crystal.

Finding Aqua in the rejoicing crowd, Mei addressed her excitedly, "Didja see that? Wasn't that cool?"

"Uh, yeah," Aqua replied awkwardly. It was certainly a very impressive sight, but it also raised many questions.

"We hold those ceremonies twice every year. People go out and look for what we call Energy Crystals- red ones- to recharge the Guardian Crystal with," Mei explained, sensing her companion's confusion.

Aqua could only assume the "Guardian Crystal" was the monolithic one that was currently glowing brightly in the center of the city.

"This is just my first time, but they _pay_ you for that kinda stuff!" Mei continued excitedly, "And they give you weapons. The more experienced you are, the better the pay and equipment gets!"

"But you're not in it just for the benefits, right?" asked Aqua admonishingly.

"Of _course_ not!" replied the younger girl indignantly, "I wanna help my town, that's all! They even let us keep our crystals from successful Hunts, to remind us of what we do for the city!"

Smiling, Aqua replied, "Good. Now, about finding me a place to stay…..?"

"Oh, you can stay with me!" Mei replied.

"Er, but what about your parents?"

"Dead," Mei replied quietly. "Taken by the Heartless."

"Oh, I'm sorry!" cried Aqua.

"Don't be. I'm gonna hunt down every last one of them until no one can get hurt anymore!"

"That's a big responsibility for such a young girl," replied Aqua, "How old _are_ you, anyway?"

"Eight," replied Mei simply.

Aqua hardly spoke the rest of the way to the girl's house out of sheer shock.

When she awakened from her rest, Aqua approached her new hostess. The child was obviously able to at least handle herself against the smaller Heartless, but there was no way she would survive another Hunt by herself. She needed training, particularly since she obtained a Keyblade of her own. "Hey," said the older girl.

"Oh, hey there," replied Mei. "Didja rest okay?"

"Yeah," replied Aqua, "But I was thinking…..Don't you need someone to teach you how to fight? Especially now that you have a brand-new weapon to use?"

"I know how to fight!" Mei replied defiantly. "Against the smaller Heartless, maybe. But what if I'm not around and you have to fight a big one all by yourself again?"

The younger girl could do nothing but concede the point. "Yeah," she said dejectedly. "But, wait…..What do you _mean_, 'if I'm not around'? Are you going to leave?" she asked.

"Well, I'll have to leave, eventually," replied Aqua.

"But _why_?" the child whined, "I thought I….I thought I could have a family again….."

"Whoa," replied Aqua, "You caught me off-guard there…..Um…."

"If you want to leave, then _fine_!" shouted Mei, tears streaming down her cheeks.

"Hold on, kiddo," chided Aqua. "I never said I was _going_ to leave any time soon. Not on purpose, anyway."

Wiping her tears, Mei eyed her warily. "So you'll stay?"

"As long as I can," promised the older girl.

"I don't feel ready to be anybody's 'Mommy' yet, but I'd be alright with you calling me 'Big Sis' or something," she continued, smiling.

"Alright!" exclaimed Mei as she gripped Aqua in a vice-like hug.

Over the next few years, Aqua and Mei trained together as master and student as they bonded as friends and as sisters. Aqua even enlisted as one of the city's Crystal Hunters. First, Aqua taught Mei swordsmanship. It was hard, since Aqua herself utilized a forward-grip style, but her memories of Ventus's fighting style aided her greatly. Next came magic. Mei turned out to be a natural at offensive magic, but had very little talent with defensive and healing magic, like Cure or Esuna. By the time three years had passed, however, Mei was a competent warrior in her own right.

Suddenly, on the night of Mei's eleventh birthday, Aqua vanished. Mei searched everywhere she could think of, from their house to the training grounds, to even a few of the hunting grounds she usually stalked Heartless on with Aqua. She was nowhere to be found. Returning home, Mei broke down. "Why?" she asked aloud, futilely hoping for an answer. "Why'd you have to leave….?"

When Aqua opened her eyes, she found herself in an unfamiliar place. Over the years, Mei had told her of the other settlements in the Realm, such as Shard, the smallest, which utilized violet crystals, or the Maw, where those referred to as the Shadowed Ones, humans possessed by Heartless rather than having their hearts devoured, resided in tribal packs, but where she currently resided didn't seem to fit any description she could think of. It was just a wide-open plain, desolate as always, with no one to be found anywhere. Wiping a tear from her face, Aqua thought to herself, "Looks like I'm back to wandering again."

[One Year After Sora's Initial Adventure]

The young warrior sighed as she returned home from yet another successful Crystal Hunt."Here's another one to add to the collection," she sighed wistfully, looking at the crystal she held in her hand. Poking a hole in it with a heated needle, she removed the necklace she wore and threaded the crystal on as if it were a bead. "That makes five years, sis," she said, addressing a photo she kept on her desk of her and Aqua sitting together, smiling."When are you gonna come home?" By now, the necklace had ten beads. It was the second one she had ever made, the first being the one with six beads that she had worked on with Aqua. By the time of that Crystal Hunt, she garbed herself similarly to Aqua, though with her own preferences as to color, such as wearing red belts instead of pink ones across her chest, and a skirt that was a dusty red rather than blue. Along with these, she always used her winnings from the Hunts to buy and maintain armor pieces that were similar to Aqua's gauntlets, though hers did not transform into a full suit of armor as she had heard Aqua's once did. The main difference, aside from color and materials, between her and Aqua's outfits was the fact that she usually wore the second necklace, the one she worked on alone. Though she seldom wore it, she always made sure to carry the first necklace for good luck. It was impressively made, with her very first crystal, that one she obtained when she met Aqua, serving as the centerpiece, the focal point.

Feeling a draft, she summoned her Keyblade. Pointing the tip towards her fireplace, she said, "Fire," and a burst of dark flame leapt into the firewood. Her proficiency with offensive magic had increased significantly during the five years Aqua had been away, but she still struggled with healing magic. Feeling a small degree of pride about her blaze, she turned back to her necklace.

Just as suddenly as she had made the flames spring to life, they died out.

"You want to see your sister again, huh?" asked a voice out of the shadows.

Summoning her Keyblade again, Mei sprang to her feet. "Wh-Who's there?" she demanded, "Show yourself, coward!"

A strange, humanoid figure wearing bizarre armor with a helmet covering his entire head at once casually strolled out of his hiding place, hands raised in a non-threatening manner. "Hey, don't worry, I'm not here to hurt you," he said.

"Okay, but _who_ are you?" demanded Mei, still poised to attack, "And how the hell do you _breathe_through that helmet? It looks airtight!"

"That's not important right now. Neither is my name. All you need to know is, I can help you achieve your goal- to see your sister again."

Still wary, Mei asked, "Oh yeah? _How_?"

The stranger produced a strange crystal in his hand, black as the Void itself. "Just squeeze this in your hand. You'll see."

Curiosity and arrogance got the better of the young warrior. She grabbed hold of the crystal, falling into the stranger's trap. As a blinding light overtook her, she heard the strange man offer her one last piece of advice:

"See ya on the other side…..Oh, and make sure to look for someone named 'Sora,' though I'm pretty sure he'll find you anyway!"

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><p>How'd ya like it? Reviews are much appreciated, while flaming is not. =)<p> 


	2. Entry 1: A New Ally and a New Problem

Here's the real first chapter! Hope you like it!

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><p>Entry 1: A New Ally and a New Problem.<p>

"See ya on the other side…..Oh, and make sure to look for someone named 'Sora,' though I'm pretty sure he'll find you anyway!"

Sora woke with a start and sat up. What was it with him and weird dreams? This time he was in some kind of weird body armor, and telling some girl with black hair to look for him after giving her a black crystal. He had no idea who that girl was, or who her "sis," Aqua was. Sighing, the youth shook his head, misplacing several of the spikes in his brown hair even further than his pillow already had.

"Oh well," he said to himself, "It'll probably come up sooner or later anyway…No sense in thinking too hard about it now. Maybe Riku or Kairi will know….?" However, try as he might, he couldn't get back to sleep. He decided he would just train. That always made him tired, after all. However, he couldn't do it at home. The last time he had, he'd broken a lamp and had an awkward time explaining things to his mother without telling her about the Keyblade. He _did not_ need a close call like that again.

Luckily, there was an islet nearby where he and his friends usually used as their hang-out spot. Ever since they had returned from their last adventure, Sora and his two closest friends, Riku and Kairi, had been using it as their base of operations. At this hour, no one was likely to be there, so Sora could train as he wished and not disturb anyone. Fixing his hair and getting dressed, he hastily scribbled a note to his mother in case she entered his room while he was out and left for the islet.

As soon as he set foot on the beach of the islet, however, he found himself fending off a savage blow with his Keyblade.

"Ugh," an older boy's voice grunted in disdain, "Have you ever considered wearing some color _other_ than black? For a second there, I thought you were a Heartless!"

Sora looked up from his defensive stance to see Riku's icy blue eyes glaring back at him. He was a year older, and much stronger physically than Sora was.

Moving some of his long, silvery hair out of his face, Riku raised an eyebrow. "What? Is there something on my face?"

"No," Sora started to say, but then he noticed a small cut on Riku's right cheek.

"Hey, what happened to your cheek?"

"Oh, this?" replied the older boy. "Combat practice. We're not the only ones here, y'know."

"What do you mean, 'not the only ones?'….No way. Is _Kairi_ here, too?"

"Yeah, actually, she is. And I tell ya, she's got a decent swing!"

Sora didn't laugh, though he was clearly supposed to. Riku could tell a decent joke, but Sora was more preoccupied with why he was not the one Kairi asked for training.

Soon, Riku had lead Sora to the other side of the islet, where Kairi was facing away from them, practicing her Keyblade swing. Sora couldn't help but smile, partly because she was working so hard, and also partly because she seemingly had no idea that most of her swing put her in danger of exposing her panties since her skirt was so short.

Riku shook his head. "What I don't get is, why doesn't she just wear a longer skirt?" he asked, still trying to coax a chuckle out of his best friend. "And then she gets mad at _me_ when I point out that her panties are showing! Jeez…."

"Maybe because you shouldn't have been looking down there in the first place!" By the time Riku looked back to where Kairi was, she had stopped swinging and was looking straight at him…..And she didn't look happy. "And why'd you drag me out here at this hour when we could've all trained together during the daytime?" she asked, following up with a yawn.

Though he was now apprehensive of his girlfriend's wrath, Sora felt relieved. So, she hadn't been the one to ask for the training session, after all!

Noticing him as she finished rubbing her eyes with her free hand, she called out, "Hey Sora! Did Riku drag you out of bed, too?"

"Haha, no," Sora laughed in reply. "He _did_ try to kill me when I got here, though."

Kairi gasped, apparently taking Sora literally. "Riku! How _could_ you?" she demanded, tears forming in her eyes.

"Wait, no! That's not what happ—"

"Juuust kidding!" she cut him off, winking and sticking her tongue out. "Oh c'mon, I _knew_ Sora was joking!" she reassured her older friend as she brushed some of her medium-length scarlet hair out of her face.

"Hey guys," Sora said, "Seeing as you're both here anyway, can I tell you something?"

"Sure, Sora, what's up?" replied Kairi.

"Hold on," Riku interrupted. "Let's go sit near the Paupu Fruit tree first. That's where we usually go to talk, and I wanna sit down, anyway."

Returning to the near side of the islet, the three teens walked to the tree. Situated on the top of a short stone pillar, the Paupu tree resembled a white palm tree with relatively smooth bark. One of their favorite things about that tree was the fact that, by some quirk, it had grown sideways, like a bench. Their other favorite thing about it, however, was the legend behind its fruit, said to bind one's destiny to whomever one shares it with. As Sora and Kairi took their usual positions on the tree's trunk, Riku remained on the ground at the base.

"Hey Riku, how come you never come up here?" Sora asked.

"'Cause I like to lean on the trunk when I sit here," the older boy replied nonchalantly. "Now, what'd you wanna tell us?"

In reply, Sora explained his dream to them.

Riku stood up. "So, what kind of armor was it?" he asked.

"I dunno, some kinda bodysuit," Sora replied.

"Did it look anything like….This?" Kairi asked, flipping in her sketchbook to a drawing of a sinister figure clad in the same bodysuit and a helmet that covered the entire head.

"Y-yeah, that's it!" he exclaimed.

"How'd you—"

"Because I had the same dream," she interrupted,

"Only _I_ was the girl!"

"Whoa, creepy," Riku muttered. "You've been going out for about a week since we came back, and now you're even having the same dreams….?"

"Now hold on!" Kairi shouted indignantly.

Riku held up a hand. "Just teasing, but you have to admit, it's weird. So, whose lame idea was it to drag _me_ into that dream, too? I wasn't either of them, though."

Both of the younger teens blinked.

"Neither of us, I think," Sora said.

"Hm," Riku grunted as he tossed a stone into the water."And when are we going to Yen Sid's tower, anyway?" he asked no one in particular.

Yen Sid, an immensely powerful sorcerer and an advisory figure to Sora and his allies, King Mickey, Donald Duck and Goofy, had recently issued a summons to his tower, which was literally located worlds away. Sora had been there several times before, but now, they lacked any sort of means to get there, or so they thought.

"Hey Riku, can't you try opening a Corr-"

"Corridors aren't things to be trifled with, Sora," the muscular boy chided. "I think I can open one that will take us there, but there's the question of keeping clear of any contaminating Darkness."

"Wait, really?" Sora asked, prompting an exasperated sigh from his friend.

"Okay, try to remember this time. When you go through a Corridor of Darkness, you can travel instantly from place to place. However, the Darkness will try and enter your heart and corrupt it. People with only light in their hearts, like Kairi, are completely immune, so she's fine. I can control both darkness and light to an extent, so I can manage. The problem is, how do we protect _you_ from contamination?" "

Ah," Sora replied, taken aback. "Well…..I don't—" He was cut off by the sudden manifestation of his Keyblade, the Kingdom Key, in his hands. He and his friends stared at it out of shock. It was Sora's signature weapon, a blade in the form of a silver skeleton key with a gold handle. The question is, why did it appear, when Sora clearly hadn't summoned it? Then, something else happened that surprised them even more: it transformed! Keyblades are usually able to change form according to which charm, referred to as a Keychain, the wielder has equipped onto the blade. However, Sora had not equipped any Keychain besides the Kingdom Key's standard silver Mickey Mouse-like charm. Within a few seconds, Sora held in his hand a dark grey reverse-grip Keyblade, whose teeth resembled both the teeth of a geer and a wing.

"Since when did you get a new Keychain?" asked Riku.

"This…This doesn't feel like a Keychain. More like _another Keyblade_." All of a sudden, the blade had re-oriented itself to point at Riku, with a ball of energy forming at its tip.

"Riku, _move_!" Kairi shouted, prompting him to dive to the side. No sooner had he gotten out of the way than a beam of energy burst forth from the Keyblade, turning into a portal. It looked quite similar to a portal that would've granted entry into a Corridor of Darkness, except this portal was formed of light. Riku inspected the portal as if it were rigged to explode."Sora," he began, "Just _how_ did you do that?"

"Trust me, I have no idea," the brown-haired boy replied.

"Guys, c'mon," Kairi said, placing herself between them. "There's no reason to fight. We may not know now, but we'll probably find out later, right?" Picking up a rock that was near the spot where Riku was sitting, she said, "Let me do a test of my own." Once her friend had gotten a safe distance away from the new portal, she threw the rock into it. The distant sound of that same rock hitting the ground could be heard. "I can't see where this portal leads, but it _seems_ safe enough," she noted. Without warning, she ran into the portal, much to the shock and concern of her friends. "It's fine, guys! C'mon!" Upon hearing this, both boys dove simultaneously at the portal.

Once they were on the other side, Sora knew immediately where they were. "Guys, look! We're here!"

"Uh, of course we're 'here,' Sora….But where _is_ here?"

"This is the tower, isn't it?" asked Kairi amazedly.

"Yep! Or, at least, we're on the _grounds_ of the tower," Sora explained, jerking a thumb toward the massive structure behind him.

"Whoa," Kairi breathed in awe. "Check out the architechture!"

Riku didn't say a word. He didn't want to tell his friends and ruin the mood, but he felt uneasy- almost as if a malevolent presence was close by. Ever since he had given himself to the Darkness on their first adventure, he could sense the movements of beings aligned with it, be they Heartless or those with evil intent. Even though his own alignment lay between light and dark, he still had that ability. Once they had gotten to the door, he finally spoke up. "You two go inside first. I…There's something I wanna check out before I join you."

"Like _what_?" Sora protested, "It's not like there's much to see out there!"

It was true. The "grounds" of the tower consisted of a small landmass suspended in the middle of the void that the King, Donald and Goofy commonly referred to as "Interspace", or the space between worlds. The most interesting thing to look at was the skyline, which almost never changed unless Yen Sid was in a bad mood, and the small trees that dotted to field.

Not being able to think of a proper excuse and feeling the evil presence more strongly, he suddenly summoned his Keyblade, the Way to Dawn, prompting his friends to summon theirs in alarm. "I'm warning you guys," he growled, "Get inside. _Now_."

Kairi, who had a similar, yet less finely-tuned ability to detect evil, felt the presence as well. "Sora, maybe we _should_ just go," she said, tugging the sleeve of her boyfriend's black jacket. "Riku, come in soon, okay? We'll wait here in the lobby for you to rejoin us."

At this, Riku simply nodded and watched them as they went inside.

"Ugh, what is _wrong_ with him?" Sora shouted, making Kairi jump in surprise.

"Sora…He just wants to be left alone for a little bit. He'll probably explain himself later, okay?"

"No, it's _not_ okay! And where does he get off, pulling his Keyblade on us for no good reason?" Sora's ranting was interrupted by the sudden sound of a door locking. Had Riku locked himself out of the tower?

Sora leveled his Keyblade at the door. He was used to using its magic to open any lock by now. However, this was much more difficult than usual. Perhaps it was a magical security measure Yen Sid put up, but his Keyblade's magic was blocked by a barrier. Maybe Yen Sid rigged it so that a Keyblade can't open the door if it's locked? But how would he even have known how to protect against Keyblades? Assuming it was because he was some sort of great sorcerer, Sora pushed the question from his mind and dashed for a window to see what was going on outside. Kairi did they saw was shocking- a Corridor of Darkness had opened some distance from the tower, and the girl they had seen from their collective dream stepped out of it, looking very disoriented.

"Ngh," she groaned, squintling slightly at the twilight.

"What's her problem?" Riku wondered. "It's not like the sunlight here is even that bright."

Once her eyes had adjusted, the girl noticed Riku and immediately summoned her Keyblade. "Who are you?" she demanded. Riku raised an eyebrow.

"Who, me?" he asked drily.

"Yeah, you! The guy with the girly silver hair and the weird yellow top! Who are you?"

"My shirt's not 'weird,'" muttered Riku under his breath, "And yellow is my favorite color. Another thing, what's her problem? There's nothing wrong with my hair!"

Raising her own eyebrow, the mysterious girl stalked forward slightly. "Huh, didn't think I'd affect you so much with those comments," she said. "Now I'll ask again, who are—"

"Riku," he interrupted, "Name's Riku."

Breaking her stance, the girl smiled. "See? That wasn't so bad, was it? I just needed you to tell me your name, _Riku_."

"Um, yeah. Quit putting emphasis on my name like that; it makes me feel weird."

"Ohhhkay," came the reply. "So, don'tcha wanna know what _my_ name is, handsome?"

"You were supposed to give it _before_ asking mine, but fine, I'll bite. What's your name?"

"Mei," she replied jovially.

Riku maintained his stone-faced glare. She seemed nice enough, but the closer she got, the more alarm bells and red flags activated in his head. She had to be the evil presence he was sensing.

Pointing his Keyblade at her, he entered his own fighting stance. "Alright, _Mei_, what do you want?"

"Whoa," she protested, holding her free hand in front of herself in a placating manner, "I'm not here to fight you. And I thought you said it was creepy to put emphasis on people's names like that?"

"I asked you a question, Mei."

"Look, I'm just looking for a guy named 'Sora,' alright? I have no quarrel with you."

"The hell you don't!" replied Riku gruffly. "Sora's my best friend. What do you want with him?"

"Jeez," groaned Mei, re-entering her combat stance, "Why so defensive? I'm only looking for him because some guy in weird black armor said I should, alright? He said Sora might be able to help me find my sis, that's all!"

Inside the tower, Kairi raised an eyebrow at Sora.

"Wh-why are you looking at me like that, Kairi? I've only seen this girl in my dream last night, like you and Riku!"

"Huh? Uh, that's not what I was thinking at all. I was just wondering how on earth you'd be able to help find this 'Aqua' person."

"Oh," Sora said, clearly embarrassed, "Right, got it." Just then, they heard the click of the door unlocking.

"I don't trust you," Riku told Mei. "You've got a real bad aura. If you want Sora—"

"I'm right here!" Sora shouted as he burst outside.

"Sora, no!" Riku shouted as he felt Mei's aura spike.

"Agh," she groaned. Suddenly, the black crystal reappeared in front of her and shattered, its essence surrounding Mei. When Sora and his friends could see her again, she was wearing the same suit of armor that the mystery boy was wearing in their dream, except she looked half-conscious and was lacking her Keyblade.

"Help….me….," she gasped, as a dark mist swallowed her head and encased it in the helmet.

Mei, or whoever was controlling her, clenched and unclenched her hands a few times, almost testing to see if they worked properly. Then, suddenly, she summoned her Keyblade- except this time it wasn't the same. This one was a forward-grip Keyblade that had a shaft that looked like the blade of a "normal" sword, though there were metal pieces adorning it as if fastened on. The hand-guard was circular and looked like a black gear with red lining, as did the teeth. The most unsettling feature was the eyes- the thing had two blue eyes with pupils like those of snakes, one where the guard met the shaft, and the other at the tip if the shaft.

"Void….Gear," Sora murmered.

"Void…What?" Kairi asked in shock. "You mean you've seen this Keyblade before?"

Before Sora could answer, both Kairi and Riku were sent flying into the tower by concussive blasts of dark energy.

"Enough talk," the helmeted figure said in a voice that was eerily akin to Sora's own, "It's showtime!" With a flick of his wrist, he had sealed the door to the tower, effectively separating Sora from his friends. After seeing his friends attacked like that, the young hero was _not_ happy.

Summoning his Keyblade, he dropped into his characteristic low fighting stance, holding they Keyblade as he always did, as if it were a Zweihander or a Greatsword.

"You wanna fight? _Let's fight_."

* * *

><p>Whoo boy! Looks like it's getting heated up from the get-go! Tune in next chapter to see what happens next! (And leave some reviews, I always like to see reviews.)<p> 


	3. Entry 2: A Fight for Control!

Entry 2- A Fight for Control!

A few minutes into the battle, Sora was already struggling. This new enemy, who or whatever it was, was much faster than he was used to in a Keyblade-wielder. For every strike he made, he was forced to block three more. Every time he dodged, his foe was there to try his attack again.

"Rgh!" he growled in frustration.

"What's the matter?" gloated the figure, "Am I too fast for you?"

Almost instantly, Sora had to fend off a solid thrust at his chest. "What am I gonna do?" he thought, "None of my attacks are landing a hit….And this guy's impossible to predict!"

As they watched Sora's struggle against the mysterious being, Riku and Kairi felt helpless. Neither of them could unlock the door in order to join the battle, and the glass of the windows was too thick for them to warn their friend of incoming attacks.

"No, Sora! Dodge left! To the _left_!"

"Relax, Kairi," Riku said, "He can't hear you. All you're accomplishing is hurting my ears."

"Well, sorry about that, Riku, but I have to do _something_."

"How about think? You're better at that than either me or him," Riku said, jutting a thumb at Sora. "Try to figure this out. Meanwhile, lemme try again to break the seal on the door." Descending the stairs to the ground floor, Riku began using his Keyblade to blast the door in every way he could think of. Fireballs, shards of ice, bolts of electricity, even beams made of light and dark power. Nothing so much as put a scratch in the enchantment covering the door, which had taken the appearance of a translucent barrier.

"'Think,' he says! 'Try to figure this out,' he says! Whaddya think I'm trying to do?" Kairi thought desperately. "There are just too many unknowns…..What's with that sudden darkness? Why does Sora recognize that Keyblade? Who's that girl?"

Desperate, Sora attempted to summon the mysterious Keyblade again. Back on Destiny Islands, it had opened a portal. Perhaps it could help him in battle? Focusing as best he could while blocking a barrage of blows, Sora searched for the origin of that Key.

Eventually, he heard a familiar voice. "Hey there, looks like you need a little help!"

"Roxas?" asked Sora. About a year ago, Sora himself had lost his heart and turned into a Heartless. By some twist of fate, however, his body transformed into a human-seeming creature known as a Nobody. Once he reunited with his Nobody, dubbed "Roxas" by Organization XIII, who had found him first, and became complete again, Sora's body and soul played host to Roxas's seemingly separate consciousness. Sometimes, they were able to hold conversation. However, it didn't seem likely to Sora that this was Roxas talking to him. Ever since his return to the Islands, Roxas usually manifested when Sora was near Kairi, as a reaction to Kairi's own Nobody, Naminé, who was in a similar situation.

His suspicions were confirmed when the voice spoke again, saying, "Nah, I'm not Roxas….I'm just a friend. So would you like some help?"

"If you're gonna help me beat this guy, then go right ahead!"

In a flash of light, and amid much clanking, Sora suddenly found himself in a foreign suit of armor, though it felt familiar, somehow. In his hand was the Keyblade from before, which he now somehow knew was called "Wayward Wind". Feeling himself move faster than ever, Sora renewed his offensive against his opponent.

"Interesting plan," the mysterious warrior muttered. "Looks like it's time to bring this little show….to a close!" he shouted, charging his blade with dark energy.

Almost automatically, Sora charged his with light energy. In the resultant clash, a blinding explosion of energy ripped through the tower's courtyard, and the sheer force shattered the seal on the tower doors.

Rushing outside to check on the combatants, Riku and Kairi were astounded to find that both their friend and the stranger had been blown to opposite sides of the courtyard.

"Ngh," Sora grunted as he staggered to his feet. "That was intense!"

Kairi gasped, staring at the center of the battlefield. "Sora, Riku, _look_!"

Revolving slowly in the air where she pointed was an impressive-looking sword, seemingly having two intercrossed Kingdom Key Keyblades as guards, with a more conventional blade extending from the point of intersection. Everything about the lower half of the Keys was fused, including the Keychain, whose token depicted crossed Keyblades. While it hung in the air there, it gave off a powerful aura, as if it possessed enough power to cause untold destruction in a single swing. Without warning, however, the glowing weapon began to deteriorate, ultimately splitting back into its component parts, the Wayward Wind and the Void Gear Keyblades, each flying back to its wielder.

Sora, having long favored using the Keyblade as a sort of boomerang for long-range attacks, deftly caught the blade by the handle as if it were nothing. In yet another burst of light, the blade once again transformed into the Kingdom Key.

Rising from where it had fallen, the mysterious figure rose and grabbed the Void Gear as it flew towards it. Almost immediately afterward, however, the figure knelt, stabbing the blade into the ground. With a sound like a gust of wind, a cloud of darkness flew away from the figure and the Keyblade like dust in the wind, revealing Mei and her Keyblade. Waiting a few seconds for Mei to finish gasping for air, the trio approached her.

"You alright?" asked Sora.

"Y-Yeah," muttered the raven-haired girl. "Sorry about that, I dunno what that wa—"

"Don't worry about it," replied Sora reassuringly. "Possession, right? It happens. Riku here got possessed himself just a year ago!"

"Don't remind me," the older boy grumbled.

"All _kinds_ of things happened last year, didn't they?" noted Kairi.

Struggling to her feet, Mei stumbled forward.

Steadying her, Sora admonished her, "Hey, be careful. You could get hurt." After making sure the girl was alright, he cast Cure on them both, healing their wounds.

"You….You know magic?" asked Mei.

"Sure do!" replied Sora."I know a lot of spells….Most of them are offensive though."

"Haha, same here," Mei said, smiling. Maybe getting used to her new situation wouldn't be such a big deal, after all.

"We're going up to see Yen Sid," Sora continued. "You wanna come with us?"

"Sora," Riku warned, "She's not one of us. How do you know we can trust her?"

"Well, Riku, she only attacked after being possessed. By your logic, why should we trust _you_?"

"Th-that's different," he muttered.

"It's alright," Mei butted in.

"I'm used to being alone. You guys don't need to fight over me; I'll be fine by myself."

"But—" Sora began.

"You heard her," Riku said, cutting him off. "I still don't trust her."

Kairi, who hadn't said a word during that exchange, finally spoke up. "Riku," she said, "I'm not sensing any evil from her anymore. Do you?"

"Well…No," replied the silver-haired youth begrudgingly.

"If neither of us can sense anything—"

"It's not that simple," he replied, "What if whatever possessed her hid deep inside, too deep for us to sense?"

"Riku, _really_," Kairi replied in a warning tone.

"I get it," Sora said, a mischievous grin on his face. "Riku, it's because you _like_ her, isn't it?"

"Wh-What'd you say?"

"Ah, I see," said Kairi, playing along, "You're trying to make it look like you're not _too_ eager to have her around, right?

"**Wrong!**" Riku shouted, though it was clear they were touching a nerve."Oh, alright, she can come along! But I'm keeping an eye on her!"

"Hey, that'd better be the _only_ part of you that you 'keep on her' in front of me, big guy," Kairi teased.

"Grr," Riku growled, "You guys are _impossible_!"

"Um," interjected Mei, "Are you guys _always_ like this or something?"

"Yep, pretty much," Sora said cheerfully.

"We're just playing around, though, so don't worry too much about it!" Kairi said, grinning.

"Remind me why I hang out with you two again…?" asked Riku exasperatedly as they made their way to the tower staircase.

"Aw, don't be like that!" said Sora.

Mei couldn't help but smile at the humorous display, but she was also left wondering- _did_ Riku have feelings for her? As she didn't know anything about him, she couldn't know for sure, but something about the way he was reacting to their teasing made her wonder.

As they finally reached Yen Sid's chamber at the top of the tower, the group was surrounded by Heartless.

"Sora…?" Kairi asked, clearly unsure of what was going on.

"Don't worry, this always happens," the boy replied self-assuredly.

"Whenever Donald, Goofy and I used to come here, Heartless would just pop out, like they are now. We just have to beat 'em up and move on, that's all!"

"Oh really?" Riku asked sarcastically as he blasted dark fireballs at several of the creatures.

"Hey," Mei said, doing the same,"How come your flames look like mine, when your friend is using different ones?" As she asked, she motioned towards Sora with her free hand to indicate who she was talking about.

"Dunno," Riku replied, slashing more of the monsters, "Maybe you only learn the dark versions of spells growing up in the Realm of Darkness, because that's what I was using." Calling down lightning to strike most of the remaining abominations, Mei simply nodded.

Concerned, Sora briefly looked over at Kairi. She had been training vigorously ever since receiving her own Keyblade, but she still didn't have much experience in battle. However, much to his relief, she seemed to be doing well….For a rookie, anyway.

Eventually, the pack of Heartless was eliminated and the chamber doors opened. Walking in, the teens immediately realized the room was completely deserted, save for a few motes of dust.

"Let me get this straight," Riku said, "Yen Sid is supposed to be here, but he's suddenly a no-show? What gives?"

"I….I dunno," Sora said, looking perplexed.

Noticing a crystal ball sitting on a stand atop the desk, Mei quietly approached it as her companions discussed the sorcerer's possible whereabouts.

"Maybe he's hiding from some enemy?" Kairi asked.

"Way to be pessimistic, Kai," Riku teased.

"Come _on_," she whined, "I'm just trying to be helpful!"

"Guys, stop," Sora chided, "Now's not the time."

"Uh, guys?" Mei addressed them, "What's with this ball?"

Gathering around it, all four friends peered inside.

Riku was the first to speak. "Sora, isn't that—"

"Hollow Bast- er, I mean _Radiant Garden_, yeah," Sora replied. Within the globe floated scenes of a world familiar to the Destiny Islands trio, for they, especially Sora, had been there numerous times. The first time, the world had fallen to the forces of darkness, re-christened "Hollow Bastion" by the resident villain, the evil sorceress Maleficent. However, once Sora restored the worlds at the end of his first adventure, the world had eventually returned to using its old, true name: Radiant Garden.

"That's where most of your other friends live, right Sora? The ones you met on your adventures?" asked Kairi.

"Yep," the boy replied, "But why is this ball showing us that world?"

"Maybe this 'Yen Sid' guy is there right now?" asked Mei.

"After all, any decent magic-user can use a teleportation spell." When the others gave her a blank stare, the raven-haired girl blushed. "Um…I guess not?"

"That gives me an idea, though," Kairi said.

"Hang on." Opening her sketchpad, she began to run a few calculations.

Looking over her shoulder, Sora whistled. "Man, Kairi….What're all those?"

"Just your standard probability calculations," she said in a matter-of-fact tone, "Just to see exactly how likely it is that he went there."

"Do you even have enough data?" Mei asked. "What are the other options?"

"For now I'm limiting the options to him teleporting there, hiding somewhere out of sight around here, or concealing himself to hide from an enemy," Kairi stated, "As those three are the most likely to be true."

As the girls discussed their calculations, the boys quickly grew bored and began to search around for clues to aid in the investigation.

"Hey," called Sora, pointing out a model civilization situated on a table in a corner of the room, "Look at this! It's like a tiny world!"

Merely granting him a quick glance, Riku admonished him, "It probably _is_, if this guy is as good as you say. I wouldn't touch that if I were you." Noticing a scrap of paper on the desk, Riku picked it up. In hasty scribbles, it said, "Dark anomaly in Radiant Garden. Must investigate further." "Hey guys," Riku called, "I think it's pretty safe to assume he _did_ go to this Radiant Garden. Take a look at this!"

Giving the note a once-over, Sora nodded, saying, "Yeah, as best I can tell, that's his handwriting…..I guess we'd better get there quick!" As if on command, the image in the crystal shifted to that of a keyhole. "Whoa," Sora breathed. "Do ya think….?"

"Do it," confirmed Riku. Raising his Keyblade to point at the keyhole, Sora unleashed the magic beam that allowed the weapon to unseal any lock.

_**CLICK.**_

At that, the transparent sphere morphed into yet another portal, which immediately sucked all four of them in. With a crash, they managed to land in the courtyard of Maleficent's ruined castle.

"Ugh," groaned Sora, holding his head, "Is everyone okay?"

"Y-yeah," Kairi replied shakily.

"Kuh," Riku grunted as he rolled his shoulder."That was a little rough, but it looks like we all made it."

"Guys, look!" Mei shouted, pointing a short distance off to their side. What had originally seemed like empty space had turned out to be some sort of odd spatial distortion. When the group went over to investigate, Mei immediately summoned her Keyblade without warning. Ignoring the shocked expressions of her new friends, Mei walked toward the anomaly, Keyblade extended.

"Is…Is she in another trance…?" Kairi whispered.

However, neither of the boys had time to reply, for in the next instant, Mei's Keyblade had "unlocked" the distortion as Sora's had unlocked the crystal ball portal back at the tower. Stepping out of the resulting portal, a Corridor of Darkness, came a most unexpected figure- Aqua.

Stepping forward hesitantly, as if afraid to leave the Realm of Darkness, she gingerly left the portal. As she was stranded in the deepest darkness for so long, she was afraid that her very Realm might reject her, though thankfully, it did not. Squinting in the bright noonday sun, the young warrior caught sight of her old student almost immediately.

"M….Mei?" she exclaimed.

"Sis…?" came the reply.

At this, the two girls ran at each other and embraced, finally having been reunited after so long.

"Oh, I missed you so much!" cried Aqua. Mei didn't answer verbally. She was too busy trying not to completely break down in front of her new companions, as that would've been needlessly embarrassing. Her tears could wait for later; while she was overjoyed to see her adopted sister again, she was concerned by both the fact that the portal remained open, and the fact that they had yet to lay eyes on the mysterious sorcerer whose note had led them there.

Noticing Mei's unwavering gaze at the portal, Aqua began to wave at it with the hand that wasn't busy mopping up tears, as if beckoning someone out. "Hey," she called, "Come on! It's great out here!" At this, a hooded figure in a black cloak stepped out, triggering the immediate dissolution of the Corridor.

All of a sudden, Sora flew into a rage. "What the….? The Organization? I thought we wiped you guys out a _long_ time ago!" Summoning his Keyblade, he dropped into a battle stance.

The figure, however, merely raised one hand in a placating manner and doffed his hood with the other. His face, once revealed, was shown to be that of an elderly man, with moderately long, faded blond hair and a beard of the same color, framing tanned skin, golden eyes, and stern features.

"A-Ansem the Wise?" Sora gasped as he broke his stance in shock. "What're _you_ doing on the other side of that Corridor? How were you even in the Realm of Darkness? How'd you even _survive_ that explosion?"

"'Explosion'?" Aqua asked credulously, a quizzical look on her face.

"Yeah!" Sora replied, "Toward the end of my- er, _our_ last adventure, this bad group called 'Organization XIII' created an artificial Kingdom Hearts—"

"Kingdom Hearts….As in _the_ Kingdom Hearts? The Heart of All Worlds?"

"Er, no," replied the bearded man, "_This_ Kingdom Hearts was formed of human hearts, those freed from the Heartless by the Keyblade."

"I see," replied Aqua, "And?"

"_And_ Ansem here tried to use a machine to vacuum up as many hearts as he could—"

"In the hopes of turning them into data inaccessible to those fiends," added Ansem. "Er, right. Anyway, the thing blew up and took him with it! So how _did_ you survive?"

"I shall explain that later," Ansem said calmly. "Let us return to _my_ castle first. _This_ one," he said, gesturing to the ruined structure behind him, "Makes me feel…uneasy."

Just then, there was a resounding crashing sound, similar to a large bomb going off.

"What was that?" Sora asked to no one in particular.

"Dunno," replied Aqua blithely, "But maybe it's time to see what you rookies have to fight these days!"

As she raced off towards the source of the din, Sora fixed Mei with a disdainful look. "_Rookies_? Did she seriously just call us 'rookies'?"

"Hey, don't look at me like that," the crimson-eyed girl retorted, "And plus, she's got every right. She's been using Keyblades longer than any of us. She even taught _me_ everything I know."

As his new friend sped off to catch up with her "sister", Sora sighed. "Well, guess we got no choice but to show 'em what we got, right?" he said as he himself began to run.

Ansem was the only one not to move from that spot. As a cool breeze began to blow, he closed his eyes and uttered only one thing:

"It begins."

* * *

><p>Ansem's always been a little bit shady, but what's up with that line? And how did a portal to where he and Aqua were just appear? What the heck <em>happened<em> to Yen Sid, anyway? Come back next time to find out! (And leave a review while you're at it...It might be awhile until my next release.


	4. Entry 3: False Heroes

Entry 3: False Heroes

Mei's mind raced at a million miles an hour as she sped to catch up to Aqua. She had so many things to ask, so much to catch up on…..But her mind kept snapping back to the present. What had made that large explosion sound? What was going on?

Eventually, the group arrived at what seemed to be a pool of darkness in what used to be known as the Great Maw, a fissure just outside of Radiant Garden's walls that did indeed look like the mouth of some great beast.

"Huh, weird," Sora muttered, "It's not usually like this."

"No?" asked Aqua.

"Nuh-uh," grunted the youth in reply.

"Well then, something-or some_one_- must've caused it. I'm personally hoping it's that damned old man…..I have a bone to pick with him!"

Ansem cleared his throat while Sora merely chuckled.

Aqua looked around to see Mei nodding solemnly and Kairi giving her a shocked look like she had said something wrong.

"Ah," the older girl said sheepishly, "Not Ansem here. A _different_old man."

"And I am glad for it," muttered the bearded man.

Noticing a commotion a short distance away, Sora ran off to investigate, the others hot on his heels. There was a crowd gathered in the central plaza of the city, all gathered in front of some sort of large mechanical structure of some sort, which included a stage. The ground under the makeshift stage was cracked, as if whatever it was, it had landed pretty heavily on that spot. Peering at the stage, Sora could tell someone was about to give some kind of big speech. Spotting Leon, who was one of Sora's friends from that world at the front of the crowd, Sora immediately dashed to his side.

"Leon!" he hissed, "What's going on?"

"Shh," the older man told him. "I dunno either, but it's probably not good."

Noticing Yuffie, another one of his friends, standing atop the structure out of view of the ones onstage, Sora almost pointed her out when Leon squeezed the boy's shoulder.

"Don't react," he warned Sora, "She's just taking up her position just in case this goes bad, as am I. The whole town's in on it, and the rest of the 'Radiant Garden Restoration Committee'- god, I hate that name- is standing by for evac and healing."

Nodding quickly, Sora muttered, "Once a soldier, always a soldier, huh?"

"Who told you I was….?"

"Yuffie."

"Ah," replied the leather-wearing man, "Look, they're finally ready!"

It was impossible to miss the speaker. Sora had seen him from a good few kilometers away. It helped that, while the stage itself was black, the man and his cohorts were clad in ivory-colored knight's armor. Sora couldn't tell what his face looked like, however, because the speaker kept his helmet on.

"Greetings, denizens of Radiant Garden," he called out over speakers in a deep voice, "We are known as the Celestial Order. As you might know, in recent years, the darkness has been getting stronger; has been growing. In order to put a stop to this, we have decided that we must eradicate the darkness, if only to save the Worlds we know and love. You might ask how we plan to do such a thing. Our plan is a simple one: we merely plan on destroying every trace of darkness in existence!"

This triggered a collective gasp and some murmurs of assent from the crowd. Sora and Leon were especially shocked, as they were some of the few who knew the full significance of the man's words.

"However," the speaker continued, "Be warned that there is darkness in most hearts. In fact, it lies sleeping in yours at this moment!" As he said this, he waved his arms in an outward sweeping motion, gesturing to the entire crowd. "Do not fear, for we are not without mercy. After all, how would it be for soldiers of the light to indiscriminately destroy all that she shines upon? Nay, we shall not. Anyone who joins with us by tomorrow evening will be saved. Other than that, your very World will cease to exist."

"But I thought you wanted to _save_the Worlds!" Sora cried out before he could stop himself.

"Some Worlds...Are beyond saving." the man replied grimly.

Feeling the rumbling of the unusual stage being put into motion, Yuffie immediately dashed away from it and over to where Sora and Leon were standing.

"Dammit," she growled, "Looks like we're gonna have to deal with the general population before we can do anything!"

As she said this, the trio saw the stage leave the ground and fly up into what seemed like a masive spaceship.

"Whoa," Sora marvelled at the sight, "That's _way_bigger than the Gummi Ship!"

"No offense, Sora, but pretty much _anything_is 'bigger' than that toy you used to fly around in with Donald and Goofy."

"Yuffie," Leon chided the girl, "Now's not the time to tease him. Like you said, we've got bigger problems."

Sure enough, he was right. A whole plaza of panicked civilians is hard evidence to argue against. About an hour later, once things had calmed down, Leon and the others ordered everyone home. After this, the heroes had regrouped at the headquarters of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee, the home of Merlin the Wizard, to discuss how to deal with the new threat.

"Yuffie, you got any intel for us?" asked Leon hopefully.

"_Squall Leonhart_, we've been through this. No. I was just lucky their fancy scanners and whatnot didn't find me!"

Leon could tell Yuffie was angry just from the fact that she used his real name, which he had abandoned all those years ago when their world was lost to the Heartless. Since he'd started calling himself "Leon", she'd usually only ever use his proper name when upset, much like a parent calling their child by their full name.

"Alright, I get it," the leather-clad youth muttered, "Sorry."

"Well, we know they're hostile, least there's that," offered Cid, the second-oldest member next to Merlin himself. "It's a start, at least."

"How the heck would they destroy the whole World, though?" mused Riku, looking concerned.

"Dunno," replied Cid, "But they'd need a helluva lot of firepower to do that! The Heartless can destroy Worlds by devouring their Hearts, or cores, but aside from that, you'd need nothin' short of a laser the size of a small spaceship for that!"

"Hey, old man," Yuffie complained, "Don't jinx it! They just might have something like that!"

"Tch, I'm just speaking in hypotheticals, here. Ain't gotta actually _be_that way!"

"Enough," said Aqua, who was quiet up to that point. When the others looked at her, they could immediately tell she was even more concerned and disturbed than they were. "Now's not the time to fight. That man...He's very good at manipulating people with his words. He _wants_us to fight amongst ourselves. We'd just be proving his point."

"What do we do, Sis?" Mei asked hopefully, "If anyone knows, it'd be you, right?"

"I'm afraid it isn't that simple," Aqua muttered.

"What are you so worried about?" asked a voice at Aqua's side.

Half-expecting to see her friend Ventus, Aqua's face lit up, then looked crestfallen when she saw it was just Sora.

"It's...It's just that...That man, he..."

"He..._what_?" asked Leon.

"Hey! Lay off, will ya?" said Mei defensively, "Don't rush her like-"

"Mei, stop it. I just said we'd be playing into his hands if we fight amongst ourselves."

"But-"

"'But' nothing. Thanks for sticking up for me, but we can't afford to argue with each other right now."

"So, what about that guy?" asked Kairi.

"I...I know him," said Aqua gravely.

"Wait, you..._what_?" asked Yuffie.

"_I. Know. Him._" Aqua repeated, enunciating each word.

"So who is he?" asked Riku.

Turning to Sora, Riku and Kairi, Aqua said, "The three of you know him best next to me. He was the cause of all your troubles as well as mine...Xehanort."

Sora balked. "You _know_Xehanort?" he asked, practically shouting.

"Yes...Or, at least, I _did_. He was a colleague of my Master back when I was learning to use the Keyblade, and-"

"Whoa," Kairi said. "I've _seen_ what that guy looks like. Isn't he a little _young_to be friends with your teacher? He looks like he could've been your fellow student!"

After a moment of tense silence, Aqua faced the girl directly. "That's because he _possessed_my fellow student."

"Wait," Mei said, "Don't tell me he's that 'old man' you've always been talking about? You mentioned him earlier, too!"

"Exactly," the older girl replied, "That's him."

"Fill us in," ordered Leon. Once she had finished recounting the events of her previous adventure, Leon nodded. "So, we leave him to you to take out?"

"No. Well, yes...I can't kill him. Not yet."

"Because you have to restore Terra, right?" Sora chimed in.

"Exactly. I'd promised Ventus that I'd come for him _with_Terra. If I fail to save Terra, I can't face Ventus."

Suddenly, a tear rolled down Sora's cheek. "Huh? What the?" he said as he wiped it off. "Dunno _where_that came from."

Aqua just smiled sadly. "Looks like Ven's listening."

Breaking her silence, Yuffie pounded the table with her fist. "Enough talk! While we just _sit_here, people are either joining up with those dirtbags or sitting at home worrying that their time has come! We gotta put a stop to this!"

"Jeez," Cid muttered. "Who went an' ate your cheesecake, kid?"

At the mention of her favorite snack being eaten, Yuffie automatically raced to the refrigerator and returned. "No one, in the literal sense," she muttered, "But it just makes me so mad that it's almost like we can't do _anything_while we wait for those jokers to blow up our home!"

"I hear ya," Leon said sternly, "But what're we gonna-"

He was interrupted by the sound of a voice projected over loudspeakers.

"Attention, denizens of Radiant Garden. This is the Celestial Order...There has been a change in plans. We have detected much too much Darkness in your World to save _anyone_. Therefore, we will be forced to begin the obliteration process now before the epidemic gets any worse. We deeply apologize for this, for any loss of life greatly saddens us. It is our hope, in your final hours, that you are all able to put your affairs in order and that you demise be swift and painless."

Activating the city's defense grid, Cid voiced his extreme displeasure.

"Dammit! They said they'd give the civies until tomorrow evening! Why's he rushin' things?"

"This was...This was their plan from the start," replied Kairi, just realizing so herself. "He never _planned _to save anyone!"

"Well, that's just great," muttered Leon. "Now what?"

"We can still stop 'em!" Sora said in a determined voice. "C'mon!"

Leading the charge out of their headquarters, Sora was the first to run into one of the enemy.

_**CLANG!**_

"Hm, odd," the armored figure replied, seemingly unfazed as Sora reeled from the impact, "I don't recall myself holding one of those 'Free Hugs' signs." There was no mistaking it: judging by the voice and the general shape of the armor, this enemy was definitely female.

Recovering from his brief daze, Sora drew his weapon. "Who said I wanted to hug you?" he shot back.

"Whoa, easy there, tiger. I'm not your enemy. In fact, I-"

"The hell you aren't!" Sora shouted.

Kairi was shocked while Riku merely smirked. Sora usually never cursed. When he did, it was a sure indicator the he was furious...Something which might just help him here, Riku surmised.

"Yikes. Jeez, kid, I'm just trying to invite you into my-er, _our _group. Those two behind you," she said, pointing at Aqua and Kairi, "Are welcome as well."

"And what if I don't want to join?" came the immediate reply.

"Hm. This isn't going as planned. Maybe I should give you a taste of my-er, _our _power?" she asked no one in particular.

"She keeps accidentally saying 'my' instead of 'our' like she's apparently supposed to," thought Mei. "What's up with that?"

Before the raven-haired girl could reach a conclusion, however, their enemy had backed up a few steps quickly, summoning her own weapon: a Keyblade. As Sora and the others looked on in shock, she pointed the tip at the sky and recited what seemed to be an incantation:

"Come, warrior of flame,

Come, O ruler of the inferno,

Come, all-devouring destroyer of all,

Come, mighty Ifrit! Show these fools your power!"

With that, there was a glint from the sky, as if one of the stars was responding to her call. Seconds later, a blinding beam of light struck the ground immediately beside the mysterious woman, revealing a hulking mechanical monster when the light receded. It looked positively demonic, with razor-sharp, flame-cloaked claws, a gaping maw filled with jagged teeth, and thick horns, almost like thick tree branches. Incongruously with these other details, however, was its color scheme- the behemoth was primarily white and silver in color, much like the armor of its mistress.

"Wh-what is that...?" Sora thought. Hoping Aqua, who was much more experienced, would know, he turned to her just to see that she was equally shocked. "Darn," he thought, "This is going to be a long fight!"

When the mechanical monster charged, even the city's advanced defense system had difficulty keeping up with it.

"Ngh," Sora grunted when the Kingdom Key was nearly knocked out of his hands by the sheer force of the blow.

Between the monster's gargantuan strength and intense flames, the battle was already looking hopeless.

Suddenly, Sora had an idea. Merlin had been his primary instructor in magic, and if there was anything he emphasized more than anything else for magical combat, it was that certain elements deal twice as much damage as usual against certain other elements. Fire magic shared an equivalent nature with Ice magic, it seemed- use either one against the other and you're guaranteed critical damage.

"Here goes nothing," he said to himself. Glancing quickly at Riku, Aqua and Mei as a cold mist began forming around the tip of his Keyblade, he could tell they had all arrived at the same conclusion.

"Freeze!" they all shouted at once, aiming thir spells at the behemoth as it tried to strike at them. Fortunately, their plan had worked, and the monster froze solid. Leon landed the finishing blow, cleaving the thing in two with a swift slash of his Gunblade.

"Bravo," said the armored woman sarcastically, clapping slowly. "Do you see now what we're capable of? These mechs are just footsoldiers, really. If a team of you have so much trouble with _one_, how can you hope to deal with-"

"We'll take our chances," spat Sora angrily.

All of a sudden, the woman heard a man's voice from her helmet's built-in communicator.

"Valkyrie, this is Susanoo. The cannon is fully charged. With or without the objectives, you need to return. Now."

"B-but!" she whined, pressing a hidden button on the outside of her helmet with two fingers, "I'm really close! Can't you delay the firing somehow?"

"No. Return _now_, that's an order."

"Fine...But if I-er, _we _can't have them, I don't want them around to screw things up in the future!" Saying this, she pressed a button on her gauntlet.

Immediately, most of the group was brought to its hands and knees, with Riku and Mei being knocked completely unconscious.

"This pulse that I'm currently emitting causes pain in those with lots of darkness in their hearts," she said gloatingly. "Even those of you with little darkness feel something," she continued, gesturing at Sora and Aqua, who were still standing, "Now there's no way you'll survive the blast!"

As she said this, another beam of light seemingly fell from the sky, this time enveloping her. "Farewell, fools! Have a nice death!"

"And they call themselves warriors of light?" Sora thought to himself as he tried to ignore the growing ache all over his body.

"Looks like I 'jinxed' it after all, kiddo," Cid said to Yuffie in a strained voice. "It seems they really do have that kinda firepower."

"Oh, Cid..." Yuffie replied, tears forming in her eyes from both frustration and grief, "I'm so sorry I yelled at you like that..."

"We can't give up yet!" Sora shouted. "Maybe we can deflect it! Aqua, Kairi, you with me?"

"Are you _insane_?" asked Leon. "You want to try and deflect the laser they're gonna _destroy the world _with?"

"You got a better idea?" Sora shot back.

At this, Leom backed down. Crazy as Sora's idea was, he himself didn't have anything better to offer.

"I'm not gonna lie," said Aqua, "You idea sounds _compeely _insane. However, it's not like we have any other options."

"Kairi?" asked Sora.

"I...I'm with you. It's better to try something crazy at times like this than to do nothing at all."

"Alright," Aqua said. "Let's take up defen-"

She stopped abruptly upon feeling a buzzing feeling in her legs. Looking down, she was horrified to see a circle of crackling electricity form, and could do nothing as the energy arced its way up her body, knocking her unconscious.

"What now?" Sora asked no one in particular. Looking around, he saw that the defense grid was still active, but something else was odd. Instead of the orbs that usually showed up as the cursor showing where the defense grid was scanning, there was a familiar, forboding shape: Thunder Kunai, the signature weapon of long-dead Organization XIII member Larxene.

"N-No way," Sora murmured. Out of the entire Organization, he had considered the sadistic and manipulative Larxene one of his most hated enemies. Was she alive again somehow? He didn't have time to think about it, though, as another circular spot of light formed on the ground, only this time, it seemed to again correspond to a star.

The Celestial Order's cannon had found its target.

Rushing to it, Sora raised his Keyblade as he ran, shouting, "Reflect!"

"Guardian XIII: Protocol IV," said a computerized voice.

Before the spell could materialize the way Sora had wished it to, he was frozen mid-run in a block of ice.

"Sora!" Kairi screamed. She was at a loss. What was she supposed to do? She wasn't as strong as Sora, after all. Then she looked over her fallen comrades. "No," she told herself, "I have to act. I have to at least do something...For them...For Sora...For me...For the people of this World!"

With these thoughts swirling in her head, Kairi ran to the circle of light. She would either save her friends or die trying. Raising her own Keyblade, the Destiny's Embrace, above her head, she yelled as loudly as she could, shouting, "Reflect!"

_**BOOOOOM!**_

Just as she had erected the magical barrier, Kairi was enveloped in a column of searing light. Fighting through the pain she felt, she channeled all her power to her shield. As the ground cracked beneath her feet, she felt like she couldn't take much more.

Just then, images began to flash through her mind, visions of her playing with her friends as children, being separated from them for the first time, and finally of her reuniting with them during the events that took place on the World That Never Was, and fighting alongside them for the first time. After these images, she heard a voice. It was Sora's voice, from the time during their first adventure when her heart resided in his body.

"My friends are my power!" he declared.

"That's right," Kairi thought, "My friends...I fight for my friends, too."

"C'mon Kai, is that all you got?" called Riku's voice half-tauntingly.

"No, it's not!" she thought, unable to speak due to the effort she was exerting.

"Don't worry, Kairi," said Sora's voice, "You're not alone. You're never alone. We're right here with you, like always, right, Riku?"

Sora and Riku appeared in her field of vision. Kairi couldn't tell whether they were real or not, but she didn't care.

"Guys," she gasped, "It...It hurts. Everything...hurts. Am...Am I...dying?"

"No way!" Sora said derisively. "And you won't as long as we're here!"

"He's right," said Riku. "We'll get through this together. We'll help carry your burden."

With that, both boys took hold of Kairi's Keyblade alongside her and the girl immediately felt stronger.

"Guys...Thank you," she murmered.

From his place frozen in the ice, Sora was forced to watch the girl he loved seemingly give her life for his sake. He couldn't even see her anymore, for she was completely enveloped in the light.

"Kairi..." he thought. Was she alright? It seemed that she was succeeding, however, as he could definitely see the brunt of the laser's light being deflected.

After several minutes, the redirected laser was turned skyward, causing some form of explosion. Whatever was up there, firing the laser, Kairi must've hit it, for the beam almost immediately ceased.

"Guardian XIII: Protocol VIII," Sora heard a computerized voice say through the ice. Suddenly, he felt warmer, then slmost immediately thawed. Turning around, he saw what seemed to be some kind of burner underneath him, though it didn't hurt him when touched.

Running to Kairi as soon as he was able, Sora was shocked by what he saw. There she was, standing in the center of a smoking, scorched crater, holding her Keyblade straight up in the air, the partially-shattered barrier of the Reflect spell slowly dissipating above her. She looked terrible. Her jacket and minidress were partially destroyed, leaving her right shoulder and the majority of her back exposed, along with part of her hip. She was missing a shoe, the remaining one being only marginally intact. Aside from her damaged clothes, there was also her bodily injuries: there were several singe marks all over her body, along with some wounds, which were bleeding substantially. By all logic, she was half-dead.

Doing his best to avoid the hotter parts of the crater, Sora made his way to her, but not before Ansem, who appeared from a Corridor of Darkness beside her. Gently scooping the motionless girl into his arms, he simply gazed at her for a moment, his eyes and expression betraying his concern.

"Ansem!" Sora called as he reached the spot, "Is she...Is she...?"

"Thankfully, my boy, she survived. I can only assume that it is due to the fact that she is a Princess of Heart, and as such, has a heart devoid of darkness."

Sora sighen in relief, then fell to his knees, unable to hold off his tears any longer. "Thank...Thank goodness," he murmured.

"She needs medical attention, however. Everyone here does. Come, I shall take you all to my castle, where she and your other friends will be healed."

"Okay," Sora replied, "But one more question: Not that I really have any kind of problem with it, but why do you care so much, if you don't mind my asking?"

"Because," the old man said, "This girl...is my granddaughter." When Sora failed to reply for shock, Ansem continued, "Come, now. We haven't any more time to waste." Turning his gaze slightly upward, he said, "Guardian XIII: Protocol II."

At this, the security program activated, teleporting everyone present to their destination: Ansem's now-deserted castle.

* * *

><p>What's up with Radiant Garden's defense grid? And where the heck was Ansem during all of that? All this and more, next chapter!<p> 


	5. Entry 4: Revelations and Dreams

Hey everyone! Sorry for the wait...I had school and a bunch of personal stuff going on. Hopefully this chapter and those coming after are worth the wait!

* * *

><p>Entry 4: Revelations and Dreams<p>

The events that occurred once the group was whisked away into Ansem's castle were all a blur to Sora. Between his best friends being in dire condition and the shocking realization that Ansem was apparently Kairi's biological grandfather, he had a hard time thinking straight. The best he could do was barely manage to follow Ansem's commands to assist him in treating his friends. First, of course, came treating Kairi's wounds. Fortunately, Aqua had recovered fairly quickly on her own, and was able to use her magic to heal Kairi before the girl lost much more blood. Most of the others recovered soon after, having merely been stunned and not in any real danger. As for Riku and Mei, they were put into a machine not unlike an MRI, where it was discovered that they had merely been knocked unconscious without any lasting damage.

Monitoring the condition of the latter two of his patients, Ansem marveled at how well they were doing despite the circumstances. "Amazing," he muttered. "It would almost seem as if the device is something akin to a weaponized medical tool- much like an EMP, only for people. Intriguing..."

Sora, who was sitting right next to him, was only barely listening. He was much too preoccupied with the fates of his closest friends.

"Whew," Aqua sighed as she entered the room wearily. "She's out of the woods now. We just need to wait for her to wake up."

"How long will that take?" Sora asked eagerly.

"Er...I don't...I don't actually know," the girl admitted awkwardly. "But it should be sometime soon."

"That's good," Sora breathed, turning his gaze back to Riku and Mei.

Sensing indecision in the boy, Aqua gently placed a hand on his shoulder. "Go on, go to her side. I know that's what you want to do right now. They'll understand," she said, gesturing to Sora's other two friends.

Nodding silently, Sora stood and walked off to the room where his girlfriend lay unconscious.

"He's a strong lad," said Ansem. "Hasn't broken down yet, or shown any extreme deviations in behavior at all, for that matter, even given the amount of stress he must be under."

"You're probably stressed, too, though, aren't you? You look exhausted."

"Then it would seem my age has finally caught up to me. I am fine; no need for concern."

"You should get some rest, Ansem," Aqua said quietly. "I'll take over for you for a little while. I'll just let you know if anything happens."

The old man remained motionless for a short while, but finally conceded. "Very well," he said. Pointing to a red lamp which was glowing steadily on the console, he told her, "Should this ever begin to blink, alert me at once."

"Of course," Aqua replied as she watched the old man walk to his bedchamber. Slumping down in the seat he was previously occupying, she rubbed her face with both hands. "Who _was_ that, anyway? She implied that there are more of them, too... Can we really face them like this?"

Flashes of the encounter with their enemy rushed through her mind. Were there more like that woman? How many more? Whoever was talking to their adversary on that odd headset of hers must've been her superior, since she obeyed his command, albeit grudgingly. How did they rank their troops? After a bit of consideration, Aqua shuddered, realizing that if the ranking order was based on strength, the heroes were in trouble. It truly had been a daunting challenge to merely survive as they battled the mechanical Ifrit their enemy summoned, and it was very possible that she was telling the truth about having many more where that came from. And come to think of it, what on earth was that strange device that had electrocuted her after their foe's retreat, rendering her unable to assist Kairi and the others? With the number of questions on the girl's mind ever on the rise, she did not immediately notice her protegee awakening.

"Ngh..." Mai groaned. With a sharp gasp, she sat bolt upright in the gurney she had been placed in, immediately summoning her weapon. Temporarily blinded by the bright lights of the examination room and convinced she had been captured by the enemy, she jumped out of the gurney to attack the first thing she sensed- her mentor, Aqua.

"Kuh...!" the blue-haired Keyblade master grunted as her student's blade impacted her own. "Mei!" She shouted, "What's gotten into you?"

Briefly betraying a look of shock, the younger girl's expression hardened further. "Heh, so you're good at mimicking voices, huh? Well...Too bad! You can't fool me that easily!" she said, leaping backward. Preparing a blast of magical flame at the tip of her blade, Mei pointed the weapon at her mentor. "If you know what's good for you, you'll drop the act and-"

"Enough." Aqua had begun to lose her patience with the situation. She was already frustrated by the events that were unfolding around her, and here was her student about to go on a destructive rampage, possibly endangering the others as they recovered. Though she would have normally preferred a more peaceful approach, the young Keyblade Master simply pointed her own weapon at her student, uttering only a single word: "Aero".

The raven-haired girl was bombarded by the typhoon-force winds generated from her mentor's weapon. Eventually being pushed against the wall, she could feel herself being rapidly overwhelmed in her weakened state. Forced to dissipate her Fire spell for fear of burning herself instead of her supposed target, she could only growl in frustration as her weapon was blown out of her reach. She _could_ just summon it again, as Aqua had taught her, but logic told her that it would've been unwise to do so just then.

Before the younger girl could get her bearings as the winds subsided, Aqua dashed forward and pinned her to the wall, holding her still as her eyes adjusted to the lab's harsh lighting.

"Mnh," she grunted, then gasped, "A-Aqua?"

The older girl sighed with relief. "It's about time you figured out it was really me and not some impostor," she said calmly. "However, your eyes really do take a long time to adjust to bright lighting. I know you grew up in the Realm of Darkness, but that might end up being a problem in this Realm, especially since our enemies seem to be fond of using Light-based weapons."

As the two young women discussed ways to circumvent the issue, Sora was busy sitting by Kairi's bedside, willing her to awaken as he held her hand between both of his. He hated seeing her like this- so still...So unmoving...Almost like she was...dead. Shaking his head, the boy immediately chided himself. "No!" he thought, "Don't think about things like that! You'll only make things worse that way!" Putting her hand back down briefly to rub at his eyes, Sora was surprised to see a brilliant flash erupt from his comatose girlfriend's lap. Somehow, unconsciously, she had summoned her Keyblade. Even stranger, it began to crackle with energy, as if it had electricity running through it. After a few seconds, an aura formed around the weapon, perfectly outlining it. It stayed this way for a few minutes, and eventually Sora tried to touch it, only to be repulsed with a stinging sensation. "Weird," he thought. He was a little hazy on the rules- not that he even knew if there _were_ any, but he was pretty sure that he could wield his friends' Keyblades just as well as his own. Why was this one rejecting him? Was it undergoing some sort of change?

Just then, Kairi's eyes snapped open. Looking around, all she could see was pure white. Wherever she was, she felt like she was floating in empty space. "Where...Where am I?" she asked to no one in particular. Orienting herself so she at least felt like she was upright, she attempted to see if she could at least walk around, to no avail. "Great," she thought sarcastically, "Leave it to me to end up in some weird space with no ground." Listless, she began swinging her legs back and forth as if she were treading water. Even if it wouldn't propel her forward, it was better than floating around, doing absolutely nothing. Just then, her train of thought was interrupted by a sudden impact to her skull.

_WHAM!_

"Oww..." the scarlet-haired girl thought in irritation as she rubbed the top of her head gingerly. What was that? Raising one hand slowly, she was astounded to feel what seemed to be a barrier. It was perfectly smooth, but seemingly quite resilient. No matter how much she pounded or kicked at it, it wouldn't budge. Her hands and feet sore from testing the barrier, she thought to herself, "How did I get up here, anyway?" Looking down at her legs, the girl realized that, while her current surroundings didn't allow her to _walk_ as she liked, they might very well allow her to _swim_. Pointing herself back downward, she began to kick her legs in earnest.

Back in the waking world, Sora noticed Kairi's legs kicking. "What is she doing?" he thought. Was she dreaming? And if so, what sort of dream involved her kicking back and forth like that? The arcs of the kicks were much too shallow to indicate a fight, but it also seemed strange for her to be swimming without moving her arms as well. Concerned, he tried to hold her left leg down to see what would happen, putting one hand on her thigh and the other on her lower leg. Unexpectedly, however, the only reaction this saw was the unsuspecting boy being kicked in the jaw by the _other_ leg.

Kairi had felt it. Someone- probably a boy- had laid hands on her leg. Though she was unable to see her assailant, she struck out with a wild kick and felt something like a jawbone. Hopefully whoever it was would stop being a pervert and leave her alone, she thought. Just then, the weightless feeling went away, just in time for the white void below her to turn into a black abyss. "Omigod!" Kairi screamed. Out of desperation, she attempted to summon her Keyblade, but it didn't come. On the verge of panic as the darkness drew ever closer, Kairi felt herself flip upright and land safely on...something. A few seconds later, amidst a fluttering akin to that of birds, Kairi saw that she was standing on some sort of glowing stained-glass platform. As she marveled at the sight, she noticed the design. On one side was Sora, and on the other, Riku, both seemingly asleep with an arm stretched out toward the center of the platform. There was a design on the center, too. Inlaid over a heart, there were three Keyblades. Sora's Kingdom Key and Riku's Way to Dawn formed an X together, and intersecting them vertically was an unfamiliar white Keyblade, one that looked like a rapier. Though Kairi couldn't remember where she'd seen the third Keyblade before, it definitely felt familiar...Almost as if she had held it herself at some point.

Barely picking himself up from the floor, Sora gently massaged his chin as he returned to his senses. While she wasn't as skilled at physical combat as either Yuffie or another one of his friends from Radiant Garden, Tifa Lockheart, Kairi could definitely hold her own with either of those warrior women by virtue of her strong kicks alone. Shrugging, the boy attributed her leg strength to the fact that, as he had, she grew up on Destiny Islands, where swimming was just as breathing for every resident. Being unable to swim in that community was almost unheard of. Finally looking back at Kairi's Keyblade, he noticed that it had begun to pulsate, as if serving as some sort of beacon. Was Kairi having one of those "weird dreams" he used to have?

After a few minutes of examining the odd image. Kairi was started by the sudden emergence of a male voice, which sounded like that of a man at least as old as Aqua's teacher, Master Eraqus, was supposed to be, echoing around the area in which she was seemingly trapped, though she couldn't pinpoint a source.

"So little time, so much to do. Here is yet another child in need of instruction, it would seem."

"What the?" Kairi asked blankly. "Who are you? Forget that, _where_ are you?"

"Do not be afraid. I am merely a friend. As for where I am...Well, that is slightly more complicated."

"'More complicated'?" Kairi repeated. "You mean more complicated than being a disembodied voice floating around in a dark void surrounding this platform? Where am I, anyway...? Am I dreaming?"

The voice merely replied with a fatherly chuckle. "Clever girl. That you are, but before you do anything rash, I must warn you that there is much danger ahead, and should you meet your doom in this dream, your body shall never awaken."

"Well that's just great," Kairi replied in mild frustration. "Oh well," she continued, shrugging, "That just means I have to listen to you really well so that I survive, right? Kinda like the tutorial level in a video game!"

"...I suppose so," the voice replied after a brief pause. "Now come, there is still much to do."

"But how do I go _ahead_? This platform is circular, and then there's-"

"Your heart will reveal the path to you. Trust it. Trust your instincts."

Complying with the voice's instructions, Kairi walked to the edge of the platform. Where there was originally empty space, there was now a smaller, rectangular platform floating there in the void, close enough that she could easily step onto it. Eager to awaken from this bizarre dream, the girl ran onward as one new platform appeared after another on the mysterious path, all the time not realizing that for every platform she mounted, the previous was swallowed up by the nothingness of the void.

Transfixed by Kairi's catatonic form, whose movements were increasing steadily in frequency, Sora just barely noticed the metamorphosis her weapon was undergoing. No longer was it the colorful, playful-looking Key that brought to mind the Destiny Islands, their shared childhood home. Little by little, it was becoming a more serious-looking blade. By the time it had completed its transformation, it was pure white, save for the blue handle and a few dark gray engravings. Where the blade met the handguard, there was a circular blue gem, inlaid into a circle of gold, For the "teeth," there was merely a shape like a crown at the other end of the shaft, not unlike the one on Sora's necklace. All in all, it was quite regal-looking, though it also felt a bit strange seeing Kairi with such a weapon. As Sora continued to gawk, the Keychain formed itself amidst a twinkling of light. Once its formation was complete, Sora could plainly see how it looked: at the end of a blue cord was a unique token, one that looked like a red heart superimposed onto a white four-pointed star.

Arriving at another large, circular platform in the black abyss, Kairi immediately scanned it to see what the image looked like. In the center, there were a trio of insignias, all the same, with two silver and one gold. They resembled inverted Nobody insignias, looking identical to the badge Aqua wore on her chest. Of the trio, only one of the silver insignias was lit, which led the younger girl to conclude that there were two others just like Aqua, but for whatever reason, they were not with her. Perhaps these were "Terra" and "Ventus," the two friends she frequently spoke of. Other than the three symbols, however, the platform was merely blue, lacking in features otherwise.

"Step into the light," the voice commanded her, "And all will be revealed."

Not having any better ideas at that point, the girl obliged, assuming he meant the lit insignia, Aqua's mark. With a whooshing like the violent winds of a sea storm, she was stunned to see the platform transform around her. What was once a boring, blank blue background had become a vibrant scene. In the center of the platform was an image of Aqua, her eyes open, holding a bulky, brass-colored Keyblade and a metallic, silver-colored Keyblade not unlike the one Sora used while possessed by that weird armor not too long ago with her arms crossed over her chest in an X. On either side of Aqua were two boys, both with their eyes closed. One of them, the younger-looking one, closely resembled Roxas, except for the bits of armor he wore and a less-mature air about him. The other one, who looked older than either of the others, had dark brown hair. His handsome but serious face reminded Kairi greatly of Riku and how he had changed before their first adventure. Above Aqua's head, the Keyblades Aqua was holding seemingly floated in an X like Sora and Riku's blades in the first platform's image, but instead of the unknown white Keyblade, there was instead a blue and white Keyblade, which Kairi assumed was Aqua's, though she had yet to use it as far as she knew. Just as she was trying to ascertain the various connections and meanings of the image, the voice accosted her again.

"The pure one, the fallen hero, and the warrior who destined to save them both. Time and time again, this seems to be the case."

"What?" Kairi asked, "I don't understand...Are you saying that _every_ group of Keyblade wielders end up like this?"

"In a way, yes," the voice replied. "Look."

Just then, Kairi saw the images on the platform shifting around. Now, all three insignia were lit, though now they were crowns, much like the charm on Sora's necklace. Furthermore, none of the original trio were present. In Aqua's place was Sora, for one. Before Kairi could get any further, the voice commanded her attention yet again.

"Once again, one who is pure, one who fell to darkness, and the one who is destined to save the others," it said, highlighting the new images.

To Kairi's great surprise, now there were images of her and Riku on their respective sides of the platform, both with eyes open and arms stretched out towards Sora in the center. "So, I'm the 'pure one'?" Kairi asked. "Well, I guess that makes sense. I'm a Princess of Heart. That's probably the reason behind that. And Riku is the one who fell to Darkness, and then Sora came and saved us both."

"Correct again," the voice said, "But the boy's work- and your own- has yet to reach its end. Your previous adventures were but as chapters in a book."

"...And now it's time to turn the page onto a new one, a new chapter...Is that it?"

"Exactly. He has his mission; those he must save," the voice continued as the images on either side of Sora's vanished, replaced by the appearance of others behind him in the center of the platform. First came recognizable figures, such as Aqua and her friends, Roxas, Sora's Nobody, Naminé, Kairi's own Nobody, Axel, their enemy who had died as their friend, and finally, among more cloaked in shadow, there was another girl, one with jet black hair in a style reminiscent of that which Kairi used during their first adventure. In fact...This girl looked a lot like Kairi, as if they could be sisters. Namine was the same way, but that could be explained by the fact that she was created _of_Kairi. What of this other girl? Was she the same way?

"Hey, Mr. Disembodied Voice?" Kairi called. "Who's this girl? I know who everyone else is, but not her."

"She is...A special case," the voice replied. "All shall be revealed in time. For now, your own time here is done."

"W-Wait!" Kairi cried as everything started going white again. "I have so many more questions to ask!"

"All will be revealed with time," the voice repeated. "A true Master knows the value of patience."

"_**WAIIIIT!**_" Kairi screamed as she sat bolt upright in the bed she was lying in.

Summoning his Keyblade automatically out of shock, Sora quickly glanced around the room, dismissing it when he realized there seemed to be nothing amiss. "K-Kairi? Are you alright?"

"Sora?" the girl replied, whirling in his direction. "I...I guess that means I made it, huh?"

"Yup...I'd say so."

* * *

><p>So, how was it? And while you're pondering that, a review or three would be nice...I don't pay you t- Oh, wait, I don't actually pay you at all, do I? Sorry. (Don't mind me, I've been playing a lot of Batman: Arkham Asylum lately, and I think Joker is getting to me...) Stay tuned for the next chapter! Hopefully I can get that written and published within the next week or so.<p> 


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